Chapter 26
Colton
Colton stopped by the loft after practice to have dinner with Dean. Over time, it had become a weekly ritual.
Dean’s loft was close to the training facility so it was convenient, and it was nice to hang out and have dinner after a tough practice. And Colton hated to eat alone. Having a meal with Dean was the perfect end to any day.
On occasion, Dean surprised Colton with another sumptuous homemade meal, like the ravioli he made for his birthday, but normally, dinner consisted of something simple and healthy. Tonight, Colton prepared tuna steaks for the grill, and Dean worked on a salad with homemade vinaigrette.
As usual, music played throughout the loft.
Dean’s playlist was comprehensive, an eclectic mix of almost every genre and every song imaginable.
'Not a Bad Thing' by Justin Timberlake began to play.
“Oh man, I love this song.” Dean smiled and began to sing along…
Now all I want is to see you tomorrow. And every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart.
Colton smiled. He loved Dean’s voice.
Colton stopped working on the tuna and watched Dean move around the kitchen as he obliviously continued to sing and work on the elements of the salad.
He noticed his perfect head of hair, his handsome face and masculine jawline, those deep fucking dimples, and those big, beautiful brown eyes.
Don’t act like it’s a bad thing to fall in love with me. Cause you might look around and find your dreams come true with me.
He eyed the curve of Dean's ears into his earlobes, his adorable button nose, the strong cleft in his chin, and the way his Adam's apple moved when he sang.
And how Dean’s tight t-shirt accentuated his chest, his biceps and triceps bulging under his sleeves.
His perfect round ass and muscular thighs in his little black shorts, and his incredibly sexy feet.
Don’t act like it’s a bad thing to fall in love with me. Cause you might look around and find your dreams come true with me.
And suddenly, like a blurry picture snapping into focus, Colton realized he wanted to kiss Dean.
His mind swam, he felt light-headed. Should he? He was reasonably sure Dean would like it, want him, and kiss him back. But what if he didn’t? What if it ruined their friendship? That would destroy Colton.
Sophie’s words began to echo in his head…
"You’re completely obsessed with Dean"
"I think you two are soulmates"
"You’re absolutely perfect for one another"
"It seems to me he’s just as smitten with you"
"You deserve someone fantastic like Dean"
"Who gives a shit what the world will think of you? Fuck them!"
"If you love him, and you let him get away…you’ll never forgive yourself"
Colton nervously swallowed, struggling to normalize his breathing.
“Can I ask you something, Dean?”
“Shoot,” Dean said, not looking up from his prep work.
“Have you ever had an urge to do something that could either be fantastic, or turn out to be a huge mistake, but you still wanna do it anyway?”
“All the time, my friend. All the time.” Dean smiled as he looked up from the counter. “What’s up, Colt? You look…strange.”
“I just realized I’ve wanted to do something for a while now. I don’t know if I should, but I’m still gonna do it.”
“Oookay…what is it?”
Colton took a deep breath. His heart pounded and his stomach flipped. His first kiss all over again, a new frontier. “If this is a mistake, please don’t be mad at me.”
Dean began to respond, but before he could, Colton stepped forward, placed his hands on Dean’s waist, and gently kissed him.
Dean stood as still as a statue when Colton kissed him. For a moment, they just stood there frozen, not moving, lips pressed together.
Fuck. Did I just fuck this up?
Colton started to think of a retreat, to rewind the last few seconds and pretend it never happened.
But then Dean slowly parted his lips and began kissing him back, gently wrapping his arms around Colton and pulling him into a tight embrace.
Colton felt the nerves wash away as soon as their chests pressed together.
Their lips fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle as their noses brushed, slowly switching between having his bottom lip in his mouth, then his top lip.
Dean pulled him closer, squeezing their bodies together like a vise, giving Colton goosebumps up and down his body.
Never before had a kiss set him afire this way. It was glorious, and magical.
Why did I wait so long to do this? he wondered.
***
Dean
Holy shit! Colton is kissing me!
The feeling was electric, palpable, coursing through Dean’s entire body. Was this really fucking happening? Was Colton really kissing him? If this was a dream, please don’t wake up!
When Colton first stepped in and kissed him, Dean froze.
He was shocked…pleasantly so, but still shocked.
And when he was frozen in place, he felt Colton begin to tense.
He didn’t want him to stop, and he certainly didn’t want him to think he didn’t like it, so he had quickly returned the kiss, letting Colton know that yes, he was very much on board with this.
In reality, Dean had secretly wished for this for a long time.
Unrequited love for straight men was kind of his thing.
Dean’s hands explored Colton’s back, over his shirt, feeling the hard muscle underneath. He slid his hands down to Colton’s waist, allowing his fingers to creep just underneath the hem of his shirt, caressing his skin.
The kiss was slow and gentle, hesitant at first, but quickly filling with heat.
Colton’s lips were so soft. His scent filled Dean’s nostrils, and Dean was ravenous for it.
Colton stroked the back of Dean’s head, running his fingers through his hair as Dean floated, his feet just off the ground. He never wanted this to end. When Colton gently slid his tongue between his lips, he let out a moan and squeezed him tighter, letting him know how much he wanted this.
Their first kiss continued for a few more glorious seconds before Colton slowly pulled his lips away.
Dean smiled, woozy from his proximity to Colton.
“Wow, where did that come from?” he asked breathlessly, touching his forehead against Colton’s.
“I don’t know. I mean, I really enjoy being here with you and I realized I wanted to kiss you. So I did,” Colton whispered, still holding Dean in an embrace, their chests touching with each inhale. “Are you surprised?”
Dean gently rubbed their foreheads together. “Fuck yeah, I’m surprised. Very pleasantly surprised. I’ve secretly wanted you to do that for months,” He whispered back.
“Why didn’t you make a move? I wouldn’t have minded,” Colton asked in a breathy whisper as he gently rubbed his temple against Dean’s.
“I can’t lose you. You’re the best part of my life. I didn’t want to fuck us up.” Dean sighed and gently kissed Colton’s forehead.
“You know, Sophie called this weeks ago?” Colton smiled.
“No way! She did?”
“Yep, when we had lunch. She said I was completely obsessed with you. And she thinks we’re soul mates.”
Dean smiled wide, pulling back enough to look into his eyes. “And what did you say?”
“I told her she was crazy, that we’re best friends.”
Dean stepped away, finally ending the embrace, and hopped up to sit on the counter. “You said ‘don’t hate me if this is a mistake.’ Do you think it was a mistake, kissing me?”
“Absolutely not,” Colton said, leaning against the counter facing Dean.
Dean’s smile faltered. “So, what does this mean Colton?”
Colton shrugged. “I don’t really know. I didn’t think about anything beyond the kiss.”
“Things aren’t going to be awkward between us, are they?” Dean asked.
Colton shrugged. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Do you want to kiss me again?”
Colton smiled, a slight, devilish glimmer in his eyes. “I might.”
“Well, how about we approach this scientifically,” Dean said with a sly grin, lifting an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah? What do you suggest?”
“We can kiss again. You know…just to see if the first one was a fluke.”
Colton moved over to Dean and positioned himself between Dean’s knees on the counter. He grabbed his hips and pulled him a little closer to him, allowing Dean to wrap his legs around Colton’s waist.
“Well, in the name of science, we probably should.” Colton replied with a smile.
Dean grinned widely. “Agreed. Research is very important.”
He leaned into Colton, finding his lips again.
Their second kiss was deeper, longer, open mouthed, tongues wrestling, immensely erotic. Dean was fully engulfed in Colton, ready to surrender to him unconditionally and completely. Colton twirled Dean’s earlobe between his fingers, sending shivers all the way down to his toes.
Colton pulled away, his breathing labored.
“Definitely not a fluke,” he whispered, placing his forehead against Dean’s.
“Definitely not.” Dean chuckled.
“Look.” Dean sighed, gently rubbing the side of Colton’s neck with his thumb. “We can take this as slowly as you want. It’s your call. I’m happy you did this, but if you decide that’s it, no more, I am totally fine with that too. No matter what, I want you in my life.”
“Me too,” said Colton, gently nudging their noses together.
For the next few weeks, not much changed between Colton and Dean.
They took in a Sharks hockey game, each posting a selfie from the bleachers to see who would get more likes.
They played a round of golf on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.
They met at the loft for dinner, music, and a few beers.
The only things that changed were the stolen kisses in the restroom of the hockey arena, the quick kisses hidden behind trees on the golf course, and a deeply passionate goodbye kiss at the end of dinner.